Questions

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənz/

Definitions

1. A remark or phrase formulated to seek specific information or clarity from another person
2. An expression used to seek knowledge or an explanation from someone
3. A sentence or phrase posed to obtain an answer or details about a subject

Etymology: The word "questions" is simply the plural of "question," and the noun's roots run deep into the idea of seeking. Its Latin ancestor, "quaestiō," meant "a seeking, investigation, inquiry," and came from the verb "quaerere," "to seek, ask, inquire." English did not always rely on this import: Old English had "āscung," meaning something like asking, which the Latin-derived word largely displaced. The path to English ran through Old French "question" and Anglo-Norman "questiun," which entered Middle English as "questioun." Yet the word has a twin, "quest," which descends from the same Latin root and came into English through Old French as well. The two words are doublets, separate borrowings that share one origin, and "quest" kept the sense of a search while "question" narrowed toward the act of asking. The verb "to question" followed a parallel route, drawing partly on Middle French "questionner" and partly on the noun itself. The plural form simply reflects the countable, everyday use of the noun, as in a set of queries put to someone.

Synonyms: inquiries, queries, interrogations, examinations, probes

Antonyms: answers, responses, solutions, clarifications, conclusions